Lobby Loyde
Encyclopedia
Lobby Loyde also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music
guitar
ist, songwriter and producer.
He was a member of 1960s groups, Purple Hearts
which had a Top 40 hit with "Early in the Morning" in 1966 and Wild Cherries
with their hit "That's Life" in 1967. He became a leading figure in the 1970s Australian pub rock
scene, particularly as a member of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
on their No. 8 album, The Hoax Is Over (1971) and Coloured Balls for a Top 20 album Ball Power (1973). He was briefly a member of Rose Tattoo
during 1979 to 1980. His solo work includes the progressive rock
album, Plays with George Guitar (1971) and the space opera, Beyond Morgia: The Labyrinths of Klimster (2007).
Known for his plectrum
guitar technique, Loyde inspired a legion of Australian musicians, and was also cited as an influence by international musicians such as Kurt Cobain
and Henry Rollins
. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
in 2006 where his Rose Tattoo band mate, Angry Anderson
acknowledged his prowess, "More than anyone else, Lobby helped create the Australian guitar sound, long before Angus [Young] or Billy Thorpe or The Angels or Rose Tattoo. Lobby inspired Australian bands to step forward and play as loud and aggressively as they could. People are still trying to copy it today". Loyde died of lung cancer in April 2007 and was survived by his children, Shane, Frances, Rebecca, Vyvyan and Lucinda, and his second wife Debbie Nankervis.
-styled instrumentals. Growing up nearby, he competed in talent quests against other Brisbane acts – Bee Gees
and Billy Thorpe
.
In 1964, as lead guitarist, Barry Lyde joined a R&B group, The Impacts, which had formed a year earlier with Bob Dames on bass guitar, Mick Hadley on vocals, Fred Pickard on rhythm guitar and Adrian Redmond on drums. The Impacts supported The Rolling Stones
1965 tour of Australia and when they arrived in Melbourne found another group with the same name, so were renamed The Purple Hearts
. They were named for the pep-pills (see purple hearts
) favoured by band members – not the US military decoration of same name (see Purple Heart
). Their debut single was a cover of Graham Bond
's "Long Legged Lovely" issued in 1965 on Soundtrack Records. Their highest charting single, "Early in the Morning", was released in October 1966 and peaked at No. 24 on Go-Sets National Top 40
. The band briefly relocated to Sydney then moved on to Melbourne. They had issued three other singles and an extended play, The Sound of the Purple Hearts before splitting on 23 January 1967. "Dames started calling me Lobby because I would lobby the fuck out of people ... My last name's' L-y-d-e, so he put the 'o' in because it rhymed better". 'Lobby' is also used in Queensland for a freshwater crayfish where other Australians would say 'yabby
'.
on lead guitar. The rest of the line-up was Keith Barber
on drums, Peter Eddey on bass guitar, Les Gilbert on organ and Danny Robinson on vocals. They had been an R&B and jazz group but moved into psychedelic rock
. Loyde, as John Barrie Lyde, wrote most of the band's four singles for Festival Records including "Krome Plated Yabby" from June 1967. "That's Life" issued in November was their only charting single when it reached the Top 40 in January 1968. In October, Loyde left Wild Cherries to join Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
.
Loyde had met Thorpe, in his school days, in the Brisbane suburb of Salisbury, Queensland
. In August 1968, Thorpe was in Melbourne with the Aztecs being Paul Wheeler on bass guitar and Jimmy Thompson on drums. Thorpe took up lead guitar as well as lead vocals. Loyde joined in October and encouraged Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs to develop a heavier sound. By July 1970, Warren "Pig" Morgan had joined on piano and backing vocals and they recorded, The Hoax Is Over, which was released in January 1971 and Loyde had left. "Under Loyde's influence, The Aztecs spearheaded the burgeoning blues, boogie and heavy rock movement of the day. It was on that foundation that Billy Thorpe earned his position as the unassailable king of Australia's early 1970s rock scene".
By July 1971, Loyde with Johnny Dick on drums and Teddy Toi on bass guitar (both ex-Fanny Adams, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) performed as Wild Cherries, their set included "G.O.D." (aka "Guitar Overdose"). A five-minute version of "G.O.D." was broadcast on 21 July, on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
music TV series GTK, and includes footage of Loyde playing 'George', his guitar. The band released a single, "I Am the Sea" on the Havoc label in 1971 and performed at the Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1972 but disbanded in February.
/ heavy metal
group Coloured Balls in March 1972 with Andrew Fordham on guitar and vocals, Janis Miglans on bass guitar and Trevor Young on drums. Their first single, "Liberate Rock", had been recorded by Loyde with Aztecs' members, Gil Mathews (on drums), Morgan and Wheeler as studio musicians – it was issued in August. During late 1972, the original line-up of Coloured Balls recorded material for an album, Rock Your Arse Off, but it was not released until May 1976 as The First Supper Last (Or Scenes We Didn't Get to See) by independent label, Rainbird.
In January 1973, Coloured Balls teamed with guest vocalists Thorpe and Leo de Castro at the Sunbury Pop Festival, their performance was released in November as the "Help Me" / "Rock Me Baby" track on the live album, Summer Jam. The album included Coloured Balls' 16-minute version of "G.O.D.". Fordham had been replaced on guitar by Ian Millar early in the year. Coloured Balls released three singles including "Mess of the Blues" which reached the Top 40 in October. They supported Marc Bolan & T. Rex
on their Australian tour. Coloured Balls released their debut studio album, Ball Power, in December on EMI
, which peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Set National Top 20 albums chart in February 1974. In January, Coloured Balls played at the Sunbury Pop Festival alongside hard rockers, Buster Brown
, which included Angry Anderson
on vocals and Phil Rudd
on drums.
Coloured Balls' second album, Heavy Metal Kid spawned the Top 40 hit, "Love You Babe" in June 1974. Along with Thorpe, Madder Lake
, Buster Brown and Chain
, they were supported by suburban-based sharpie gangs. Coloured Balls had fully adopted the Melbourne 1970s sharpies' culture which included wearing chisel toed shoes, jeans, tight-fitting cardigans
(expensive hand-made designs by Conti or Stag), crew-cut hair style with 'rats' tails' and most sported tattoos with a spider's web on the neck being popular. Their music was influenced by U.S. bands, MC5
and The Flamin' Groovies. Pubs and town halls became battlegrounds between rival sharpie gangs. Available venues became rare and media reports accused Loyde of encouraging the violence of some sharpies. Nick Ellenford, a member of the Heidelberg sharps, recalled "[Loyde] played with a cigarette stuck permanently to his bottom lip and always appeared to be drunk or stoned ... he casually walked behind a speaker midsong, threw up, then returned to the front of the stage without missing a beat". Coloured Balls disbanded at the end of 1974 and Loyde returned to solo work.
Loyde's first record production
was the debut album for Buster Brown, Something to Say, which was released by Mushroom Records
in December 1974. After Coloured Balls disbanded, he attempted to form a band with Buster Brown's Anderson during 1975. As a solo artist, Loyde issued "Do You Believe in Magic?" in December and followed with the critically acclaimed and instrumentally-based album Obsecration in May 1976. Loyde formed Southern Electric with former band mates, Fordham and Miglans, joined by John Dey on keyboards, Mándu on vocals and James Thompson on drums (ex-Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs).
Loyde had written a science-fiction novel, Beyond Morgia: The Labyrinths of Klimster, for a proposed film. In June 1976, he recorded an accompanying concept soundtrack album, mixed and engineered by Tony Cohen
, with Southern Electric over the course of a weekend. The manuscript was destroyed by Loyde after the book and related film project were rejected. In 2007, the master tapes of the album were found and it was released in Australia on Aztec Records.
From late 1976, Loyde lived in the United Kingdom, unhappy with the Australian media's continued linking of his music to violent sharpie brawls. In London, he unsuccessfully attempted to get Obsecretion released and Southern Electric's new material recorded. He ran Front of House sound for new wave bands including Doll by Doll
. He returned to Australia in 1979 to form Lobby Loyde with Sudden Electric. He recruited former band mates Mándu and Matthews and they were joined by Gavin Carroll on bass guitar. Sydney's radio station, 2JJ broadcast a live-to-air performance in mid-1979 which was recorded as Live with Dubs – the vocals were re-done by Mándu and guest vocalist Anderson (then with Rose Tattoo
) – and released in 1980 by Mushroom Records.
In October 1979, Loyde joined Rose Tattoo on bass guitar, the line-up was Anderson on vocals, Mick Cocks
on guitars, Dallas Royall on drums and Peter Wells on guitars. During his brief tenure, they recorded "Legalise Realise" which was released as an independent single in March 1980, backed with the track "Bong on Aussie" by country singer Colin Paterson, to publicise a campaign to legalise marijuana. They toured the United States, recorded an unreleased album in Los Angeles, and then toured Europe (including UK), but by September Loyde had left and earlier bass guitarist Gordie Leach had returned.
Loyde turned his attention to more production work, including albums for X
, The Sunnyboys
, Machinations
and Painters and Dockers
.
on guitar for "Most People I Know" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo".
Long Way to the Top
was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. Loyde featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" broadcast on 22 August, where he discussed the early 1960s club and disco scene in Melbourne. Purple Hearts' "Just a Little Bit" was used on the episode's soundtrack. "Episode 3: Billy Killed the Fish", broadcast on 29 August, featured interviews with Loyde, Michael Chugg (manager / promoter) and Thorpe. They described their Sunbury festival experiences and the development of pub rock
in Australia. Wild Cherries' "G.O.D." was used for that episode. During August 2002, promoters Chugg and Kevin Jacobsen
with Thorpe as co-producer, organised a related concert tour, Long Way to the Top. Concerts included Loyde performing with Coloured Balls. Performances at two Sydney shows in September were recorded, broadcast on ABC-TV
and subsequently released on DVD in December. The DVD included an interview with Loyde and the Coloured Balls and their performance of "G.O.D."/"Human Being" and "Liberate Rock".
Purple Hearts reformed briefly in 2005 for a reunion concert series with the 1964 line-up of Dames on bass guitar, Hadley on vocals and harmonica, Loyde on guitar and Pickard on rhythm guitar supplemented by Craig Claxton on lead guitar and Keith Megson on drums.
In 2005, Loyde was diagnosed with lung cancer
and a benefit concert, in Melbourne (at which he also played) raised $90,000 for medical costs. In August 2006, Loyde re-joined Rose Tattoo to replace slide guitarist Peter Wells, who had died of cancer. In 1980, Loyde had recorded an as-yet-unreleased album (as from June 2008) in Los Angeles when a member of Rose Tattoo, with Billy Thorpe guesting. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
in August, alongside Rose Tattoo, Divinyls, Icehouse, Daddy Cool and Helen Reddy. Fellow bandmate, Angry Anderson of Rose Tattoo described Loyde's influence:
The last album Loyde produced and performed on was The Odyssey by Michael Fein, which was released on 6 October 2008.
On 21 April 2007, Lobby Loyde died, from lung cancer, in Box Hill
, Melbourne, aged 65.
He met Australian actress, Debbie Nankervis (born 1953) when in London in 1979 and they were married for 26 years. Nankervis was later a model and advertising representative. Their children are Frances (born 1982), Rebecca (born ca. 1985), Vyvyan (born ca. 1987) and Lucinda (born ca. 1988). At the time of his death, on 21 April 2007, he had been separated from Nankervis.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, songwriter and producer.
He was a member of 1960s groups, Purple Hearts
Purple Hearts (Australian band)
The Purple Hearts were an Australian rock group, formed in Brisbane in 1964. The band consisted of lead vocalist Mick Hadley, lead guitarist Barry Lyde , rhythm guitarist Fred Pickard, bassist Bob Dames, and drummers Adrian 'Red' Redmond and Tony Cahill .It is notable that Brisbane, traditionally...
which had a Top 40 hit with "Early in the Morning" in 1966 and Wild Cherries
Wild Cherries
The Wild Cherries was an Australian rock group, which started in late 1964 playing R&B and became "the most relentlessly experimental psychedelic band on the Melbourne discotheque / dance scene" according to commentator, Glenn A...
with their hit "That's Life" in 1967. He became a leading figure in the 1970s Australian pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
scene, particularly as a member of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...
on their No. 8 album, The Hoax Is Over (1971) and Coloured Balls for a Top 20 album Ball Power (1973). He was briefly a member of Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo is an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, that was formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice Boys", "We Can't Be Beaten" and "Scarred for Life"...
during 1979 to 1980. His solo work includes the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
album, Plays with George Guitar (1971) and the space opera, Beyond Morgia: The Labyrinths of Klimster (2007).
Known for his plectrum
Plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
guitar technique, Loyde inspired a legion of Australian musicians, and was also cited as an influence by international musicians such as Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
and Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in 2006 where his Rose Tattoo band mate, Angry Anderson
Angry Anderson
Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson AM is an Australian rock singer, television presenter/reporter, actor and conservative political activist. He is best known as the vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 but he is also recognised for his acting roles and his charity work...
acknowledged his prowess, "More than anyone else, Lobby helped create the Australian guitar sound, long before Angus [Young] or Billy Thorpe or The Angels or Rose Tattoo. Lobby inspired Australian bands to step forward and play as loud and aggressively as they could. People are still trying to copy it today". Loyde died of lung cancer in April 2007 and was survived by his children, Shane, Frances, Rebecca, Vyvyan and Lucinda, and his second wife Debbie Nankervis.
Early years and Barry Lyde
Lobby Loyde was born as John Baslington Lyde on 18 May 1941 in Longreach, Queensland, he later wrote music as John Barrie Lyde and initially performed as Barry Lyde.[A] His mother played classical piano and his father, a builder by trade, was a multi-instrumentalist – drums, harmonica, horn, piano and trumpet – in an 18-piece R&B band and had a large collection of jazz and blues music records. His sister was not interested in a musical career but Loyde learned classical music, on piano and violin, as a child. He built his first guitar out of wood when a teenager and his father gave him a Fender electric guitar and amp. As Barry Lyde, he joined Brisbane group, Devil’s Disciples, in the late 1950s as a guitarist. In 1963, he joined The Stilettos, which played The ShadowsThe Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
-styled instrumentals. Growing up nearby, he competed in talent quests against other Brisbane acts – Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
and Billy Thorpe
Billy Thorpe
William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and musician...
.
In 1964, as lead guitarist, Barry Lyde joined a R&B group, The Impacts, which had formed a year earlier with Bob Dames on bass guitar, Mick Hadley on vocals, Fred Pickard on rhythm guitar and Adrian Redmond on drums. The Impacts supported The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
1965 tour of Australia and when they arrived in Melbourne found another group with the same name, so were renamed The Purple Hearts
Purple Hearts (Australian band)
The Purple Hearts were an Australian rock group, formed in Brisbane in 1964. The band consisted of lead vocalist Mick Hadley, lead guitarist Barry Lyde , rhythm guitarist Fred Pickard, bassist Bob Dames, and drummers Adrian 'Red' Redmond and Tony Cahill .It is notable that Brisbane, traditionally...
. They were named for the pep-pills (see purple hearts
Dexamyl
Dexamyl is the brand name of a combination drug composed of dextroamphetamine and amobarbital .First introduced in the 1930s, Dexamyl was a rudimentary antidepressant medication...
) favoured by band members – not the US military decoration of same name (see Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
). Their debut single was a cover of Graham Bond
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
's "Long Legged Lovely" issued in 1965 on Soundtrack Records. Their highest charting single, "Early in the Morning", was released in October 1966 and peaked at No. 24 on Go-Sets National Top 40
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
. The band briefly relocated to Sydney then moved on to Melbourne. They had issued three other singles and an extended play, The Sound of the Purple Hearts before splitting on 23 January 1967. "Dames started calling me Lobby because I would lobby the fuck out of people ... My last name's' L-y-d-e, so he put the 'o' in because it rhymed better". 'Lobby' is also used in Queensland for a freshwater crayfish where other Australians would say 'yabby
Common yabby
The common yabby, Cherax destructor, is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family. It is listed as a vulnerable species of crayfish by the World Conservation Union , though the validity of this listing is questionable; wild yabby populations remain strong, and have expanded...
'.
Wild Cherries and Aztecs
In January 1967, as Lobby Loyde, he joined the second incarnation of Melbourne band Wild CherriesWild Cherries
The Wild Cherries was an Australian rock group, which started in late 1964 playing R&B and became "the most relentlessly experimental psychedelic band on the Melbourne discotheque / dance scene" according to commentator, Glenn A...
on lead guitar. The rest of the line-up was Keith Barber
Keith Barber (drummer)
Drummer Keith Barber was born in Kilburn, North West London, England, moved to Melbourne when he was 10 years old and later joined a local band, the Wild Cherries in early 1966. Together with founding member Les Gilbert, he put together a second incarnation of the group that recorded four singles...
on drums, Peter Eddey on bass guitar, Les Gilbert on organ and Danny Robinson on vocals. They had been an R&B and jazz group but moved into psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
. Loyde, as John Barrie Lyde, wrote most of the band's four singles for Festival Records including "Krome Plated Yabby" from June 1967. "That's Life" issued in November was their only charting single when it reached the Top 40 in January 1968. In October, Loyde left Wild Cherries to join Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...
.
Loyde had met Thorpe, in his school days, in the Brisbane suburb of Salisbury, Queensland
Salisbury, Queensland
Salisbury is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is south of the Brisbane central business district.Salisbury was named after the residence of William Coote, an early Brisbane journalist and political figure, who lived in the area....
. In August 1968, Thorpe was in Melbourne with the Aztecs being Paul Wheeler on bass guitar and Jimmy Thompson on drums. Thorpe took up lead guitar as well as lead vocals. Loyde joined in October and encouraged Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs to develop a heavier sound. By July 1970, Warren "Pig" Morgan had joined on piano and backing vocals and they recorded, The Hoax Is Over, which was released in January 1971 and Loyde had left. "Under Loyde's influence, The Aztecs spearheaded the burgeoning blues, boogie and heavy rock movement of the day. It was on that foundation that Billy Thorpe earned his position as the unassailable king of Australia's early 1970s rock scene".
By July 1971, Loyde with Johnny Dick on drums and Teddy Toi on bass guitar (both ex-Fanny Adams, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) performed as Wild Cherries, their set included "G.O.D." (aka "Guitar Overdose"). A five-minute version of "G.O.D." was broadcast on 21 July, on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
music TV series GTK, and includes footage of Loyde playing 'George', his guitar. The band released a single, "I Am the Sea" on the Havoc label in 1971 and performed at the Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1972 but disbanded in February.
Coloured Balls
Lobby Loyde formed the progressiveProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
/ heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
group Coloured Balls in March 1972 with Andrew Fordham on guitar and vocals, Janis Miglans on bass guitar and Trevor Young on drums. Their first single, "Liberate Rock", had been recorded by Loyde with Aztecs' members, Gil Mathews (on drums), Morgan and Wheeler as studio musicians – it was issued in August. During late 1972, the original line-up of Coloured Balls recorded material for an album, Rock Your Arse Off, but it was not released until May 1976 as The First Supper Last (Or Scenes We Didn't Get to See) by independent label, Rainbird.
In January 1973, Coloured Balls teamed with guest vocalists Thorpe and Leo de Castro at the Sunbury Pop Festival, their performance was released in November as the "Help Me" / "Rock Me Baby" track on the live album, Summer Jam. The album included Coloured Balls' 16-minute version of "G.O.D.". Fordham had been replaced on guitar by Ian Millar early in the year. Coloured Balls released three singles including "Mess of the Blues" which reached the Top 40 in October. They supported Marc Bolan & T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
on their Australian tour. Coloured Balls released their debut studio album, Ball Power, in December on EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, which peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Set National Top 20 albums chart in February 1974. In January, Coloured Balls played at the Sunbury Pop Festival alongside hard rockers, Buster Brown
Buster Brown (Australian band)
-Singles:*"Buster Brown"/"Rock and Roll Lady" – Mushroom *"Something to Say"/"Let Me In" – Mushroom -References:General Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.Specific...
, which included Angry Anderson
Angry Anderson
Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson AM is an Australian rock singer, television presenter/reporter, actor and conservative political activist. He is best known as the vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 but he is also recognised for his acting roles and his charity work...
on vocals and Phil Rudd
Phil Rudd
Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd is an Australian drummer. He is best known for his membership of rock band AC/DC from 1975 until 1983, and again from 1994 to present. After the 1977 departure of bass guitarist Mark Evans, he became the only Australian-born member of the band...
on drums.
Coloured Balls' second album, Heavy Metal Kid spawned the Top 40 hit, "Love You Babe" in June 1974. Along with Thorpe, Madder Lake
Madder Lake (band)
Madder Lake is an Australian progressive rock band formed in Melbourne in 1971. They were one of the first band's signed to the Michael Gudinski co-owned Mushroom Records which released their debut single, "Goodbye Lollipop" in February 1973, followed by the album Stillpoint in August. This...
, Buster Brown and Chain
Chain (band)
Chain are an Australian blues band formed in Melbourne as The Chain in late 1968 with a lineup including guitarist, vocalist Phil Manning; they are sometimes known as Matt Taylor's Chain after lead singer-songwriter and harmonica player, Matt Taylor...
, they were supported by suburban-based sharpie gangs. Coloured Balls had fully adopted the Melbourne 1970s sharpies' culture which included wearing chisel toed shoes, jeans, tight-fitting cardigans
Cardigan (sweater)
A cardigan is a type of machine- or hand-knitted sweater that ties, buttons or zips down the front; by contrast, a pullover does not open in front but must be "pulled over" the head to be worn. The cardigan was named after James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British military commander,...
(expensive hand-made designs by Conti or Stag), crew-cut hair style with 'rats' tails' and most sported tattoos with a spider's web on the neck being popular. Their music was influenced by U.S. bands, MC5
MC5
The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
and The Flamin' Groovies. Pubs and town halls became battlegrounds between rival sharpie gangs. Available venues became rare and media reports accused Loyde of encouraging the violence of some sharpies. Nick Ellenford, a member of the Heidelberg sharps, recalled "[Loyde] played with a cigarette stuck permanently to his bottom lip and always appeared to be drunk or stoned ... he casually walked behind a speaker midsong, threw up, then returned to the front of the stage without missing a beat". Coloured Balls disbanded at the end of 1974 and Loyde returned to solo work.
Solo, Rose Tattoo and other projects
Lobby Loyde had left the Aztecs early in 1971 and worked on his debut solo album, Plays with George Guitar, with Johnny Dick and Teddy Toi. It was issued in September and "remains a progressive rock milestone, one of the most remarkable heavy guitar records of the period".Loyde's first record production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
was the debut album for Buster Brown, Something to Say, which was released by Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
in December 1974. After Coloured Balls disbanded, he attempted to form a band with Buster Brown's Anderson during 1975. As a solo artist, Loyde issued "Do You Believe in Magic?" in December and followed with the critically acclaimed and instrumentally-based album Obsecration in May 1976. Loyde formed Southern Electric with former band mates, Fordham and Miglans, joined by John Dey on keyboards, Mándu on vocals and James Thompson on drums (ex-Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs).
Loyde had written a science-fiction novel, Beyond Morgia: The Labyrinths of Klimster, for a proposed film. In June 1976, he recorded an accompanying concept soundtrack album, mixed and engineered by Tony Cohen
Tony Cohen
Tony Cohen is an acclaimed Australian record producer and sound engineer based in Melbourne, best known for his work with The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in the 1980s...
, with Southern Electric over the course of a weekend. The manuscript was destroyed by Loyde after the book and related film project were rejected. In 2007, the master tapes of the album were found and it was released in Australia on Aztec Records.
From late 1976, Loyde lived in the United Kingdom, unhappy with the Australian media's continued linking of his music to violent sharpie brawls. In London, he unsuccessfully attempted to get Obsecretion released and Southern Electric's new material recorded. He ran Front of House sound for new wave bands including Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll
Doll by Doll were a London based rock band formed by Jackie Leven in 1975. They came to prominence during the New Wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time - their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time .The original line up...
. He returned to Australia in 1979 to form Lobby Loyde with Sudden Electric. He recruited former band mates Mándu and Matthews and they were joined by Gavin Carroll on bass guitar. Sydney's radio station, 2JJ broadcast a live-to-air performance in mid-1979 which was recorded as Live with Dubs – the vocals were re-done by Mándu and guest vocalist Anderson (then with Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo is an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, that was formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice Boys", "We Can't Be Beaten" and "Scarred for Life"...
) – and released in 1980 by Mushroom Records.
In October 1979, Loyde joined Rose Tattoo on bass guitar, the line-up was Anderson on vocals, Mick Cocks
Mick Cocks
Michael Thomas "Mick" Cocks was an Australian musician, most noted for his guitar work with Rose Tattoo. His original sound and style heavily influenced Guns N' Roses, who recorded a cover of the Rose Tattoo song ‘Nice Boys’. He was also a member of Heaven, Doomfoxx, Pete Wells Heart Attack and...
on guitars, Dallas Royall on drums and Peter Wells on guitars. During his brief tenure, they recorded "Legalise Realise" which was released as an independent single in March 1980, backed with the track "Bong on Aussie" by country singer Colin Paterson, to publicise a campaign to legalise marijuana. They toured the United States, recorded an unreleased album in Los Angeles, and then toured Europe (including UK), but by September Loyde had left and earlier bass guitarist Gordie Leach had returned.
Loyde turned his attention to more production work, including albums for X
X (Australian band)
X is an Australian punk rock band, formed in Sydney in 1977 and led by the late Ian Rilen. The band has split and reformed several times.Although X has had several members, its sound has been defined by two distinctive elements: Rilen's basslines and Steve Lucas's guitar...
, The Sunnyboys
The Sunnyboys
Sunnyboys was an Australian post-punk, power pop band formed in Sydney in 1980. Fronted by singer-songwriter, guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band "breathed some freshness and vitality into the divergent Sydney scene"...
, Machinations
Machinations (band)
Machinations was a popular Sydney-based outfit working the mid-1980s independent Australian music scene. Notable national hits included "Pressure Sway", "My Heart's On Fire" and "No Say In It". They also achieved indie prominence with the two versions of their first single, "Average Inadequacy"...
and Painters and Dockers
Painters and Dockers
Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1982. Their best performed album, Kiss My Art, peaked in the top 30 of the Australian Recording Industry Association albums charts in 1988. The album included two top 50 singles, "Nude School" and "Die Yuppie Die"...
.
Later years
In 1990, Lobby Loyde was bass guitarist for Dirt with Jex Byron on vocals (ex-Olympic Sideburns), Mick Holmes on guitar (Zimmermen), Leach on bass guitar (Rose Tattoo) and Cal MacAlpine on drums (Chosen Few). Fish Tree Mother was his new band in 1997 with Bruce Aitken, Peter Coomber and Graham Duncan. On 14 November 1998, with Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Loyde appeared at the Mushroom 25 ConcertMushroom 25 Live
Mushroom 25 Live is a live album, video and DVD by various Australian musicians and was recorded at the Mushroom 25 Concert held on Saturday 14 November 1998, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground...
on guitar for "Most People I Know" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo".
Long Way to the Top
Long Way To The Top
Long Way To The Top was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era.-Production:...
was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. Loyde featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" broadcast on 22 August, where he discussed the early 1960s club and disco scene in Melbourne. Purple Hearts' "Just a Little Bit" was used on the episode's soundtrack. "Episode 3: Billy Killed the Fish", broadcast on 29 August, featured interviews with Loyde, Michael Chugg (manager / promoter) and Thorpe. They described their Sunbury festival experiences and the development of pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
in Australia. Wild Cherries' "G.O.D." was used for that episode. During August 2002, promoters Chugg and Kevin Jacobsen
Kevin Jacobsen
Kevin George Jacobsen OAM is a well-known Australian entertainment entrepreneur.Along with his brothers Colin and Keith, he was a member of prominent Australian 1960s band, The Joy Boys....
with Thorpe as co-producer, organised a related concert tour, Long Way to the Top. Concerts included Loyde performing with Coloured Balls. Performances at two Sydney shows in September were recorded, broadcast on ABC-TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
and subsequently released on DVD in December. The DVD included an interview with Loyde and the Coloured Balls and their performance of "G.O.D."/"Human Being" and "Liberate Rock".
Purple Hearts reformed briefly in 2005 for a reunion concert series with the 1964 line-up of Dames on bass guitar, Hadley on vocals and harmonica, Loyde on guitar and Pickard on rhythm guitar supplemented by Craig Claxton on lead guitar and Keith Megson on drums.
In 2005, Loyde was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and a benefit concert, in Melbourne (at which he also played) raised $90,000 for medical costs. In August 2006, Loyde re-joined Rose Tattoo to replace slide guitarist Peter Wells, who had died of cancer. In 1980, Loyde had recorded an as-yet-unreleased album (as from June 2008) in Los Angeles when a member of Rose Tattoo, with Billy Thorpe guesting. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in August, alongside Rose Tattoo, Divinyls, Icehouse, Daddy Cool and Helen Reddy. Fellow bandmate, Angry Anderson of Rose Tattoo described Loyde's influence:
More than anyone else, Lobby helped create the Australian guitar sound, long before Angus [Young] or Billy Thorpe or The Angels or Rose Tattoo. Lobby inspired Australian bands to step forward and play as loud and aggressively as they could. People are still trying to copy it today.
The last album Loyde produced and performed on was The Odyssey by Michael Fein, which was released on 6 October 2008.
On 21 April 2007, Lobby Loyde died, from lung cancer, in Box Hill
Box Hill, Victoria
Box Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Box Hill had a population of 8,616....
, Melbourne, aged 65.
Personal life
Lobby Loyde's first marriage provided a son, Shane Loyde (born ca. 1967).He met Australian actress, Debbie Nankervis (born 1953) when in London in 1979 and they were married for 26 years. Nankervis was later a model and advertising representative. Their children are Frances (born 1982), Rebecca (born ca. 1985), Vyvyan (born ca. 1987) and Lucinda (born ca. 1988). At the time of his death, on 21 April 2007, he had been separated from Nankervis.
Albums
- Lobby Loyde – Plays with George Guitar (Infinity, September 1971)
- Coloured Balls – Summer Jam (November 1973)
- Coloured Balls – Ball Power (EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, December 1973) - Coloured Balls – Heavy Metal Kid (EMI, 1974)
- Lobby Loyde – Obsecration (Rainbird, May 1976)
- Lobby Loyde with Sudden Electric – Live with Dubs (Mushroom, 1980)
- Lobby Loyde – Beyond Morgia: The Labyrinths of Klimster (recorded 1976, released Aztec Records, 2007)
Singles
Producer
Lobby Loyde has produced the following works:- Buster BrownBuster Brown (Australian band)-Singles:*"Buster Brown"/"Rock and Roll Lady" – Mushroom *"Something to Say"/"Let Me In" – Mushroom -References:General Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.Specific...
– Something to Say (1974) - Doll by DollDoll by DollDoll by Doll were a London based rock band formed by Jackie Leven in 1975. They came to prominence during the New Wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time - their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time .The original line up...
(1979) - XX (Australian band)X is an Australian punk rock band, formed in Sydney in 1977 and led by the late Ian Rilen. The band has split and reformed several times.Although X has had several members, its sound has been defined by two distinctive elements: Rilen's basslines and Steve Lucas's guitar...
– X-AspirationsX-AspirationsX-Aspirations is the debut studio album from Australian rock band, X. In October 2010, it was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.-Original LP track listing:# "Suck Suck"# "Present"# "Simulated Lovers"# "Police"# "Revolution"...
(1979) - The SunnyboysThe SunnyboysSunnyboys was an Australian post-punk, power pop band formed in Sydney in 1980. Fronted by singer-songwriter, guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band "breathed some freshness and vitality into the divergent Sydney scene"...
– The Sunnyboys (Extended PlayExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, December 1980) - MachinationsMachinations (band)Machinations was a popular Sydney-based outfit working the mid-1980s independent Australian music scene. Notable national hits included "Pressure Sway", "My Heart's On Fire" and "No Say In It". They also achieved indie prominence with the two versions of their first single, "Average Inadequacy"...
– "Average Inadequacy" (26 August 1981) - The Sunnyboys – The Sunnyboys (September 1981)
- Kevin BorichKevin BorichKevin Nicholas Borich is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter...
– Shy Boys Shy Girls (EP, 1981) - Machinations – Machinations (EP, December 1981)
- Flaming Hands – "Wake Up Screaming" (1981)
- The Tablewaiters – "Between the Lines" (1981)
- Sardine vSardine vSardine v was an Australian post-punk band, formed by Ian Rilen , and Stephanie Rilen ....
– "Sabotage" (1981) - The Sunnyboys – Individuals (May 1982)
- Kevin Borich – "Getting So Excited" (1982)
- ModelsModels (band)Models were an alternative rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1978 and went into hiatus in 1988. They are often incorrectly referred to as The Models. They re-formed in 2000, 2006 and 2008 to perform reunion concerts. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", their only No. 1 hit,...
– "On" (August 1982) - I Am Joe's Music – I Am Joe's Music (1983)
- Machinations – Esteem (album)Esteem (album)Esteem was the debut full length album for Australian synthpop band Machinations. The album was released in April 1983 on White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushroom Records.-History:...
(April 1983) - Gravity Pirates – This Way to the Cargo Cult (EP, 1983)
- Painters and DockersPainters and DockersPainters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1982. Their best performed album, Kiss My Art, peaked in the top 30 of the Australian Recording Industry Association albums charts in 1988. The album included two top 50 singles, "Nude School" and "Die Yuppie Die"...
– Love Planet (1984) - Hoi Polloi (1984)
- Spectres Revenge – "No Moon at Midnight" (1985)
- The Arctic Circles – Angel (EP, 1985)
- The Shindiggers – Beat Is Back (EP, 1985)
- Depression – Australia Australia (1985)
- X – At Home with YouAt Home With YouAt Home with You is the second studio album from Australian rock band, X.-Original LP track listing:# "The Feel"# "T.V. Glue"# "Movin' On"# "Halfway 'Round the World"# "You Say That You Love Me"# "Degenerate Boy"# "All Over Now"...
(1985) - Urban Tribe (1987)
- Large #12's – Dance the Demon Out (EP, 1988)
- Painters and Dockers – Kiss My ArtKiss My ArtKiss My Art is the third studio album released by Australian rock band, Painters and Dockers, which peaked in the top 30 of the Australian Recording Industry Association albums charts in September 1988. The album spawned four singles, "Nude School", "Die Yuppie Die", "Love on Your Breath" and...
(August 1988) - X – And MoreAnd MoreAnd More is the third and final studio album from Australian rock band, X. The album was released on the Mushroom Records alternative subsidiary White Label. The album contains a re-recordings of the bands early songs "Home Is Where the Floor Is" and "I Don't Wanna Go Out" with a new studio...
(1989) - The Zimmermen – Way Too Casual (1989)
- Michael Fein – The Odyssey (6 October 2008)
External links
- LobbyLoyde.com (official website) Obituary by Glenn A. BakerGlenn A. BakerGlenn A. Baker is an Australian journalist, commentator, and broadcaster well known in Australia for his vast knowledge of Rock music. He has written books and magazine articles on rock music and travel, interviewed celebrities, managed bands such as Ol' 55 and promoted tours of international stars...
Obituary by Iain Shedden. - Long Way to the Top Video Vault. Note: User needs to choose Artist Name: Lobby Loyde and then one of three video interviews, "Good Vibrations", "From Psychedelics to Hard Rock" or "Getting Somewhere".